camdean photographs

In My Bag

There’s a great feature on the Japan Camera Hunter‘s blog, called In My Bag – send in a pic of the contents of your photography bag for all to see. It’s fascinating to see such a variety of setups from all round the world, from the minimalists to the kitchen-sinkers. I thought I’d add my wee contribution, with a twist too – where am I from?? Not too difficult to work out, it seems! Here’s my entry:

My name’s Dan Coburn and I’ve been getting slowly but surely obsessed with photography over the last four years. I work in IT and have always been fascinated with all things electronic and gadget, so digital photography has always been a good fit for me. Lately, however, I’ve been slipping into the world of film photography. I can’t help thinking that they’re actually separate art forms in their own right, and my own shooting is probably about 50/50 at the moment. Street and urban photography are my preferences.

For digital days my Fuji X100S gets an outing, which is probably the best digital camera I’ve ever used. The film simulation modes are a real bonus (ironically for Fuji) and I love using such a small and light camera.

If it feels like a film day then it’ll be my Canon A-1 in the bag. This one is in fantastic condition and works like a dream. I’m getting a wee collection of Canon FD lenses together – I’m still looking for that 85mm f1.2 junk-shop bargain! My three most used films to be found in the bag are Kodak Ektar, Ilford Pan-F, and Kentmere 400 when the budget is tight but I feel like burning through a few rolls at once.

For refreshment there’s usually a bottle of my favourite fizzy juice in the bag. Also the weather is usually cold round here so the fingerless gloves are a must (hiding under the bottle). Finally the bag itself is a John Rocha canvas messenger bag, although this one is falling apart and might need replaced soon.

So where do I live? Well, I’m leaving that as a puzzle for the In Your Bag readers – the clues are all in the picture, especially the fine example of Victorian engineering looming out of the mist in the background!

Many thanks for all your hard work with the JCH blog, can’t help but find all these other people’s bags fascinating.